


Supernatural Gravity

by FandomAffairs



Category: Gravity Falls, Supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-16 19:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7281595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomAffairs/pseuds/FandomAffairs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam and Dean catch wind of the gravity anomilies in a certain odd little town in Oregon they decide to investigate.  After arriving the boys find themselves in way over their heads.  Facing off with an egotistical Dream demon like nothing they've ever faced before, creatures from the Multiverse like nothing they've ever seen before and an odd little family at the center of the whole mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Come on, Dean. This could be a real lead.” Sam sat at his laptop, body slightly turned in his chair. His hands popped up slightly as he spoke to emphasize his point to his brother.  
Dean took a large swig of his whiskey. “Too thin, Sam.”  
Sam shook his head. “It’s the first anything we’ve had in weeks.”  
Another swig of the whiskey. “It’s probably only a few earthquakes and some crazy locals.”  
“And what if it’s not?” Sam did have a point but there was no response from Dean. So the younger brother waited before finally giving up with an exasperated sigh. “Dean, the local paper states that there were gravity anomalies as well as several federal agents who showed up and then just left inexplicably. Sounds like enough to me.”  
“It says gravity anomalies that were then discovered to be earthquakes.” Dean pointed out.  
Sam smirked. “Either way it sounds a little, I don’t know… supernatural. Doesn’t it?”  
Dean gave a deep sigh deciding to that entertaining Sam was much easier than fighting him. “Fine, two days.” He held up his hand then dropped it back to his side. “Gravity Falls, here we come.”  
*GFS*  
Dipper jumped up on the counter, his legs dangling over the edge and journal 3 in his lap. This was his favorite thinking spot, with Mabel spinning around on the chair behind him.  
“Are we going on a monster hunt today?” She attacked his back with excitement.  
“I don’t know.” Dipper shook his head. “Grunkle Ford doesn’t want us to get too far away from the shack.”  
Mabel gaped at him. “Grunkle Stan took us on a road trip. I don’t think we can get much farther than that. We’ll be fine.” When Dipper didn’t respond she began shaking him like a rag doll. “We haven’t done anything fun for like forever.”  
“We played mini golf with eyeballs in the attic last night until Stan forced us to go to bed.” Dipper continued to flip through the pages of the journal with a pen in his mouth and the black light on the counter.  
Laying across the counter Mabel flipped her hands around in Dippers face. “I need to do something fun now or I’ll die.”  
Dipper sighed and smiled at his sister. With a slight nod Dipper began pouring through the pages of the journal. “So what do we want to look for?”  
*GFS*  
“Sure are a lot of signs.” Dean muttered without amusement. “Guess this weirdo really likes his Mystery whatever.”  
“Mystery Shack.” Sam corrected from the passenger side of the Impala.  
“Whatever. Anything with the word Mystery in its name is bad news to me.” Grumbled the reply.  
“Afraid Gabriel is…”  
“Don’t even start that.” Dean cut Sam short, his finger pointing accusingly at him.  
A chuckled followed as Sam turned his head to face the window.  
They pulled up to an old rundown shack with the S following off the building’s roof label, so it now read Mystery Hack.  
Dean looked up at the old wooden structure. “I don’t know Sam. I mean, you sure this is the place? Kinda looks abandoned.”  
Just as the words escaped his mouth a teenage girl with fiery red hair and a green plaid shirt walked up a path and into the shack where a man could be heard from inside, truly upset about her being late.  
“Yeah I think this is the place dean. The article said the agents were investigating this tourist trap.” Sam held up the printout of the article.  
“Why would anyone care about a place like this?” Dean leaned forward to get a better look of the rundown shack.  
“Let’s go find out.” Sam opened his door and began walking towards the main entrance.  
*GFS*  
Dipper glanced over the journal when Wendy walked in and Grunkle Stan began yelling at her for being late. But this was a common occurrence and in a matter of seconds the exchange was over, Wendy went to her usual stool behind the counter with her nose in her magazine and Stan went prepping for whatever poor sap walked through the door next.  
Mabel was reading the journal over Dippers shoulder and stopped him on a random page. “Let’s go find this one, Dipper!” She yelped excitedly. “His face looks so adorable!” She smashed her cheeks as she spoke.  
As Dipper eyed the page two men walked through the door. One extremely tall with long dark brown hair and the other slightly shorter with a slightly lighter shade to his much shorter hair.  
“Mabel, this is the Leprecorn. Do you really want to hunt one right after fighting the unicorn?” Dipper must have spoken too loud because the shorter man suddenly turned and began moving towards them.  
Raising her fists in the air to fake being in a mighty stance Mabel yelled out, “I’m gonna find the Leprecorn!!” And with that Mabel shot off her chair and began running towards the door.  
“Wait up!” Dipper jumped off the counter but found himself off balance and ended up falling flat on his face. As he pulled himself up to run after her a hand caught the back of his jacket.  
“Where do you think you’re going kid?” Grunkle Stan spun Dipper around to face him.  
“Mabel…” Dipper pointed out the door Mabel had left open in her rush to get outside.  
“You can go play with your sister later. Right now I need you to man the shack.” Stan jammed a thumb behind him. “These guys seem like tough customers but I bet they’ll buy something if it comes from a young face like yours. Besides I got a tour group to run.”  
“But Wendy is here.” Dipper protested, with Bill out and about he wanted… no, needed to protect Mabel.  
Grunkle Stan ignored Dipper’s protest and leaned over now to poke Dipper lightly in the chest. “Make me proud.” Then hurried off to the Museum portion of the shack.  
Dipper sighed and glanced out the door but didn’t risk Stan’s rage. Instead he gave his attention to the two men. The taller one was wandering around with a metal box with an antenna at the top in his hand, the shorter looking right at Dipper.  
“Can I help you find something?” Dipper asked the man, pulling his hat down over is eyes in frustration. He hoped to get this done as soon as possible so he could go after Mabel.  
*GFS*  
Dean smiled down at the boy, who he had heard the girl call Dipper. “Actually I have a few questions.”  
Dipper folded his arms uncomfortably. “What kind of questions?”  
Dean squinted at the kid. “What do you know about those gravity anomalies a few weeks ago?”  
Dipper’s arms fell to his side and he took a few nervous steps back. “Gravity what’s?” His voice was shaking.  
Dean jutted his lip out slightly and nodded before speaking. “I guess they were reclassified as earthquakes.”  
“Oh. Haha.” Dipper gave a fake laugh and put his hand behind his head. “I don’t know much about earthquakes. I’m sure you could google them.”  
Shaking his head Dean chuckled and turned to look for Sam who was attempting to question the red head but she didn’t seem to be paying much attention. He turned back to talk to the kid again when the vending machine suddenly burst open.  
*GFS*  
Grunkle Ford stormed out of the hidden door to see Dipper leaning away from a tall man who was now staring at him. An even taller man stood a ways off trying to talk to the girl who always sat behind Stan’s gift shop counter. Ford immediately moved between Dipper and the shorter man.  
At first Ford wasn’t really sure what to say. He didn’t usually come out during the day but he hadn’t retrieved food to the basement the night before and now found himself hungry and there weren’t usually people in the shop when Stan was running tours.  
Ford stood as tall as possible so his height was similar to the man, he did not like the sight of this man evidently interrogating Dipper. “May I help you?”  
The shorter man stood a little straighter and extended his hand. “I’m Dean and that’s my brother Sam. We’re just going through town, wondered about the gravity anomalies you experienced a few weeks back.” As Dean spoke Sam came to stand by his side.  
“Didn’t you read the papers? They were nothing more that earthquakes.” Ford retaliated. “Now if you would kindly leave my grandnephew alone I’m sure his sister is getting into all kinds of trouble.” Ford looked down at Dipper and gave him a nod.  
Dipper took this as his chance and bolted out the door to look for Mabel.  
“Sorry to have taken your time, Mr…?” Sam was trying to get anything to prove to Dean that this wasn’t a wasted trip.  
“Pines. Now if you would kindly leave.” Ford pointed to the door.  
The brothers gave one another a look before leaving without anther word. They climbed into the impala and drove down the road.  
*GFS*  
The brothers were silent for several minutes.  
Finally Dean spoke. “I still really don’t think this is our kind of thing but I will admit that that kid was lying through his teeth.”  
Sam made a sour face before responding. “There was no EMF but that place really was weird. I still think this is a job.”  
Dean scoffed.  
“I’ll do some research on the family and the town when we get back to the motel.” Sam was knew if nothing came out of this he would never live it down.  
*GFS*  
Dipper found Mabel out in the woods yelling up into a tree.  
“What… are you… doing?” He had run all the way to her and now was entirely out of breath.  
“That squirrel took my crackers!” She screamed, waving her arms above her head wildly.  
A slight chuckle slid from Dippers throat before he grabbed her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back to the shack and I’ll get you a new crackers.” Mabel always had food of some kind on her.  
Mabel turned and pursed her lips out. “What about the Leprecorn?”  
With a shake of his head Dipper began pulling his sister along behind him. “The two guys at the shack were asking weird questions. I think Ford will want us back as soon as possible.”  
The twins arrived in the gift shop to see the older twins arguing.  
“They were paying customers!” Stan yelled.  
“And they were interrogating Dipper.” Ford had his arms folded and was as if Stan was lower than the dirt of the earth itself.  
“He’s a weird kid and it’s a weird town. People can tell.” Stan retaliated, obviously not knowing Dipper and Mabel had reentered the shop. “And it’s all because of you and those stupid journals of yours.”  
Dipper let his mouth drop open but before he could respond Mabel had grabbed the back of his vest and pulled him around the edge of the room. They were on the other side of the room by the time they were noticed.  
“Kids!” Stan sounded truly shocked.  
“Ah, Dipper. I need to talk to you about those men.” Ford called out before coming to kneel before Dipper and Mabel. “What did they want? And how much did you tell them?”  
Dipper looked slightly to the side before responding. “They just asked about the anomalies. I didn’t know what to say but we didn’t talk much before you showed up.”  
“Hmm.” Ford tapped his chin. “They couldn’t have been possessed by Bill, he can’t enter the shack. But they might have made a deal with him.” He sighed and stood, turning to face the opposite direction as he thought.  
Stan stepped up to the kids. “You two had better get to bed, it’s getting late.”  
*GFS*  
“Hey come check this out.” Sam beckoned Dean over. “According to this article Stanford Pines owns the Mystery Shack. He lived there for a while before his twin brother came to visit and a few days later his brother died in a car accident. Signs pointed to sabotage but nothing was ever proven. Then just after that Stanford suddenly went from all brilliant scientist to crazy criminal with a tourist trap, practically overnight.”  
Dean stared at the computer screen. “That doesn’t make any sense. The guy that greeted us claimed to be Stanford Pines and the guy who came out of the hidden door looked just like him but there was no way it was him. Was there another sibling?”  
Sam scrolled around on the page for a few seconds. “Yeah, there is a sister but she’s several years younger and lives in California.”  
“Anything else we should know about this family?” Dean took a chug of the beer he had previously retrieved from the fridge.  
A small laugh from Sam followed. “Apparently about a month ago the two kids were attacked by a giant robot controlled by another little kid. He’s currently locked in the Gravity Falls prison.”  
With this news came Dean almost spitting the beer from his mouth. “Did you say giant robot?”  
“Yeah, I guess I did.” Sam scrolled the page a little more.  
Dean gave a fake smile with a slight shake of his head. “Alright. What’s this kid’s name?”  
“Gideon Gleeful.” Sam read aloud then leaned in closer to the screen to insure he had read the name correctly.  
“Rock, Paper, Scissors?” Dean gave Sam a sideways glance before promptly losing the game.  
“Okay.” Dean raised his eyebrows a little as he spoke. “I’ll go interrogate Gleeful, you see what more you can find out about that family. You’ll probably get more out of the kids, the old guys are a little…” Dean trailed of but brought his hand up and shook it a little.  
“Sounds good.” Sam checked his watch. “We’ll start bright and early tomorrow.”


	2. Fireball

Dipper rolled onto his back his hands flopped to his sides with his mouth lolling open. Mabel smiled. This was going to be hilarious but she had to get out of there before Dipper began flailing and possibly hit her.  
She creeped onto the foot of the bed and launched into the air, he body slamming into Dippers stomach before diving off the bed and scampering into the corner.  
Folding his body in half Dipper sat up. With one eye closed to the pain he looked to the corner where Mabel had hurried off to. “What was that for?”  
She giggled before throwing her hands in the air. “I’m ready to look for the Leprecorn.” Now she motioned to her cloths, her shooting star sweater and a light purple skirt.  
“We looked yesterday.” Dipper lay back down before briefly covering his head with his pillow. “What time is it anyway?”  
“Earlier than Grunkles get up!” Mabel was practically vibrating now. “And yesterday you just came and brought me back to the shack so Grunkle Ford could tell us how dangerous it was to be in the woods. Boring!!” Mabel threw her hands up again, her eyes seeming to go two directions at once.  
Looking out the window Dipper could barely see through the dirty yellow glass that the sun was just peaking over the horizon. He sighed and sat up, placing his pillow on his lap. “Maybe Ford is right.” He didn’t want to upset Mabel but he wasn’t sure any human should be up this early.  
Suddenly Dipper’s hat was forced onto his head, covering his eyes. “Nope. I want to see a Leprecorn!” Mabel then placed one hand on her hip as the other pumped the air above her head. “Mystery Twins away!” And with that she rushed down the stairs.  
Dipper laughed and climbed out of bed. If he tried to go back to sleep now Mabel would just return and body slam the air out of him again.  
He pulled on his vest and walked over to the shelf, on which he kept the journal, kicking one leg and catching the journal as it fell before trotting down the stairs after his sister.  
Mabel was already at the bottom of the steps, bouncing all over the entranceway. “You’re taking forever!” She began dragging him from the shack and right into Soos, the force knocking them both to the ground.  
“Hey dudes.” Soos bellowed reaching down and picking up the smaller figures into a bear hug. “Where are you off to?”  
“We’re gonna hunt the Leprecorn!” Mabel threw her arms into the air as she yelled.  
“Don’t tell Ford.” Dipper added hastily. He really wasn’t ready for another lecture about the dangers of Bill.  
“Dude, no problem there.” Then Soos leaned over and put his hand to one side of his mouth. “That dude kinda creeps me out.”  
“You wanna help us Soos?” Mabel grabbed the man-child’s hand in both of hers and pleaded.  
“Sure dudes.” And with that the three hurried into the woods.  
*GFS*  
Sam swatted Dean across the head. He had attempted to wake him several times now. Each time when Sam went off to accomplish his morning activities Dean would lie back down and fall back to sleep. Now the younger Winchester had had enough.  
Dean sat up quickly his hand grabbing under his pillow for his gun which wasn’t found.  
Waiving the gun before throwing back on the bed Sam smiled. “I didn’t want to get shot. Now get up.”  
Rubbing the back of his head the older brother glared. “It wouldn’t have killed ya.” After several seconds he awkwardly said, “Excited to go spy on some little kids?”  
Sam now glared as well. “Not funny, Dean.”  
“I’m hilarious.” Dean responded with a smug look on his face. He loved making Sam uncomfortable.  
“Keep telling yourself that.” Sam muttered as he turned away.

As the brothers got the end of the road to the mystery shack and Baby stopped Dean caught Sam’s arm. “Be careful.”  
Sam almost laughed. “I thought you said there wasn’t a case here.”  
“There isn’t.” Dean retaliated. “You’re just a clumsy giant, that’s all.” And with that he looked away from Sam.  
Now Sam did laugh. “Is that really the best you got?”  
Dean muttered something and Sam stood and walked up the path.

Sam’s intention had been to attempt to talk to the kids without their uncle there. He really had been shocked when the two ran laughing from the Mystery Shack with what looked like a large baby in a question mark shirt following them before he had even made it up the path.  
The girl was jumping excitedly every few steps as if to slow down slightly and give the boy a chance to catch up, while the giant baby laughed as he clumsily ran into things.  
Looking from the kids to the shack he made the decision to follow them. Pushing his way through the forest he found himself standing just without a clearing, the two kids had sat on the ground pointing at pages in the red book the boy had with him. The giant infant was standing behind them with a confused look about his face.  
Sam watched for a moment before shaking his head and turning away. This was stupid. Dean was right, there was no case here, just a chance for him to make a fool of himself, again. He leaned against the tree behind him and closed his eyes. Dean was never gonna let him live this down.  
*GFS*  
Dean flashed his fake FBI badge at the officer but he didn’t seem to care either way and just buzzed him through the door. After putting the badge away he crossed over to a table where a short kid with white hair taller than he was sat.  
“So you’re Gideon?” Dean wasn’t sure what to think of the ten year old. He was pudgy with a hairnet around his nest of hair.  
“Yup, that’s Lil Ole Me.” The young boy poked his cheeks as he spoke.  
Almost pulling back Dean made a disgusted face before responding. “So you know about the Pines family?”  
Gideon’s face went from adorable to looking like he was sucking a lemon peel in a split second. “Oh, I know about the Pines’.” His disgust was obvious. “They took what was rightfully mine! Although, it wasn’t my sweet Mabel’s fault.” His voice rose in pitch as he spoke, which Dean would have thought impossible, until he spoke of Mabel at which point he seemed to regain his charade of adorable little ten year old.  
“Right.” Dean pulled out the papers Sam had printed for him. “It says here you attacked the two youngest members with a giant robot.”  
Now Gideon laughed and playfully swatted the air. “Well Dipper had it comin’. He had something I wanted, tried to play me for a fool because of it. Keep in mind, I wasn’t tryin’ to hurt my darling Mabel.”  
Dean stared at the child through slit eyes. “So you tried to kill him?”  
A slight smile bit at the boys lips. “I wouldn’t have killed him. Bill wants that pleasure all to himself.”  
“Bill?” Dean questioned.  
Gideon stared for a moment before speaking again. “If you want to know what’s goin’ on in this town you’ll need the journals. All of which the Pines now have.” Suddenly the boy was on the table, leaning closer to Dean, who pulled away in response. “But Bill is comin’ and anyone not on his side is goin’ down.” Then a loud maniac laugh.  
*GFS*  
The twins decided to split up. “We’ll look all around the lake for rainbows then we’ll meet back here.” Dipper pushed the red pen behind his ear and slammed the journal closed.  
“I’m gonna find one before you!” And with that Mabel had shot out into the trees, Soos following her with a laugh.  
Dipper sighed. At least this would be over relatively fast, with Mabel moving like that she would search the whole lake in a matter of minutes. Looking around Dipper chose what looked like a possible path and began into the forest. It only took a few minutes until Dipper was bored. He liked his mystery hunts but ever since Ford had come through the portal all the little creatures didn’t seem as exciting. Plus there was the looming possibility of Bill coming for them. All in all Dipper was too worried about protecting Mabel to care about the hunt.  
*GFS*  
Sam was practically asleep when the sound of the kids reentering the clearing caused him to shake his head.  
“Did you find it?!” The girl was yelling at the top of her lungs.  
“No.” The boy’s voice.  
Looking out from behind the trees Sam watched as the girl face planted to the ground and rolled onto her back. “Look that one looks like a hot elf.” She pointed to the sky as she spoke.  
With a heavy sigh the boy lay down so they formed a perfect line with their heads touching. “It kind of does look like an elf.”  
The Man baby laid down a few feet away while saying, “A hot elf.” To correct the boy.  
The twins laughed and began pointing at other clouds an announcing what they mimicked in shape.  
Sam turned away and closed his eyes. Maybe Dean would find out something interesting so the younger Winchester would never have to recount this.  
A loud bang suddenly had the man on his feet. The world seemed to have gone to a blue, black and white palate, an eerie feeling rose through the air.  
“Ahahahahaha!” A loud, unnatural laugh filled the clearing. “Lookie what we have here… A Shooting Star, a Question Mark and a Little Pine Tree.” The voice was coming from a large yellow triangle with black limbs floating in the clearing.  
*GFS*  
Dipper had placed himself between Bill and his sister, his arm held up as if it would protect her from the chaos demon.  
“It’s good to be back in Gravity Falls.” Bill stretched his hands forward.  
“You have no dominion here!” Dipper yelled back, his voice crack giving away his fear.  
“You’ve been spending too much time with Six Fingers.” Bill leaned on his cane and rolled his eye. “There’s a crack in space time, I can do much more than mess with your mindscape now.”  
“Like what?” Mabel demanded from behind her brother, though her fingers had instinctively wrapped in the fabric of his vest.  
“Well now I can take a human form. Won’t be as powerful, but I’ll still be able to take out the likes of you.” Bill was lazily swinging his can around now.  
“What do you want?” Dipper glared at Bill as he spoke.  
“Simple, give me the journals and the rift and I’ll be on my way.” Bill even made a show of putting his hand out expectantly.  
Dipper shoved the journal in his vest. “I thought you already had power here. Why would you need the rift?” His attempt at taunting the demon came out clumsily and he immediately regretted saying it.  
Bill seemed to grow slightly bigger as he spoke. “My friends want to come play in this dimension as well.”  
“Forget it!” Dipper swiped his hand through the air as he yelled the words.  
Now Bill did grow, turning red as he did so. “Have it your way kid. But I’ll get what I want, one way or another.” And with that a huge fireball came spiraling at the three humans in the clearing.  
Sam dove from his hiding spot knocking the kids, and the baby, to safety as the fireball ignited the forest.  
Mabel was tossing into the dirt, Soos hit a tree and Dipper fell into a bush.  
Dipper coughed and sat up to find himself face to face with an old woman in a pink dress and an apron. “Abuelita?” Dipper yelped, jumping back from Soos’ grandmother. “What are you doing here?”  
“Soos’ life is my soap opera.” The old woman responded before getting up and walking away.  
Suddenly Dipper was body slammed out of the bush. It was Mabel. “Dipper,” Her eyes were pleading. “We have to get out of here?”  
The fire was growing, Sam was helping Soos up and motioning for the kids to follow him. “Get back to the shack!”  
The twins nodded to each other and the small group ran towards home.  
It wasn’t long before Dipper began to fall behind, tripping over everything possible as he ran. “Guys wait up!” He called out before, as if on que, his right leg caught a large root and he was sent tumbling several feet into a tree.  
“Get up kid!” Sam was suddenly pulling Dipper to his feet and dragging him.  
The shack was just ahead and with an extra burst of speed they plowed through the door and slid across the floor right into Grunkle Stan’s knees.  
“What the…” Was all Stan managed before falling to the floor in a heap with the others.  
Seconds later Ford came through the doorway from the other room. “What’s going on…? You!” He glared at Sam.  
“Wait, Grunkle Ford, it’s okay. He…” But Dipper didn’t finish his sentence, as he tried to stand he buckled back over. Pain was flooding his right leg where his ankle had caught the root and where the large gash spanned his shin, crimson liquid pouring from the cut. There was a rush of voices and light before Dipper passed out.

 

Sorry that took forever… I deleted the chapter and rewrote it three times before deciding on this version.  
Obviously I don’t own anything but the plot  
Don’t forget to review. Let me know where you think this is going.  
A special thanks to my good friend and beta on this story Sirenfox


	3. Meow

Dipper blinked at the shapes above him. Dark images blocking out the light that assaulted his vision. Mumbled speech was audible through the haze and Dipper soon found himself truly coming around.

"Dipper!" It was Mabel's voice that finally brought the boy to.

"Mabel…" The boy grabbed for his twin, finding her arms and pulling her into a hug. For some reason he felt the need to comfort his sister first and foremost.

"Are you okay?" She pulled him away after a moment.

Dipper's vision was becoming more vivid as his mind retouched with reality. Mabel was as close to her twin as she dared, Stan was sitting close to the kids waiting to catch Dipper if he fell again, Soos and Wendy sat a little farther away than Stan as if giving the boy room to breathe and Ford was standing over the whole scene as if the group needed protecting. Shaking his head Dipper realized the tall man who had saved them from Bill was standing awkwardly in the corner of the room.

"What happened?" The boy tried to move as he spoke but stopped with a sudden hiss when the pain shot up his leg.

"You passed out kid." Stan's gruff voice seemed to echo in Dipper's ears. "Probably from the pain in your leg. You haven't even been out long enough to patch you up."

"What happened to your leg, dude?" Wendy had advanced so she was just behind Stan.

"I tripped while we were running from Bill." Dipper was rubbing around the injury as if it could dull the pain.

"Yeah, after he set the forest on fire!" Soos spoke up.

Dipper looked down at his leg, a large gash spanned all the way up his shin from his knee to just above his ankle. There was a steady drip as his blood seeped out to pool on the floor under his leg. He slowly dragged his eyes up to meet his twin's gaze. "Would you…?" He didn't have to finish his sentence before Mabel wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him up. The younger set of twins balanced on one another for a moment before finding a good balance point and looking around.

"Are you alright, Dipper?" Ford didn't look away from the tall man in the corner, who he had been glaring at since Dipper woke.

"I'm fine." The boy couldn't help but look to the side sheepishly. "Bill… Bill wanted the journals… and the rift." He hadn't wanted to bring up the rift since Ford wanted it kept secret but he felt it needed to be said as soon as possible.

Ford stumbled a little, adjusting his glasses and finally facing his nephew and niece. "I… uh…" Then he looked back at the man, his voice going hard again. "The hunter has to go."

"Excuse me?" Stan stood to advance on his twin and glare. "He just saved the kids from your supernatural crap and now you demand he leave?"

"I don't trust hunters." Ford placed his hands behind his back as he spoke. "They don't do any actual investigating. They simply kill whatever is in their sights without caring for the consequences."

The tall man tilted his head slightly. "You sound like my grandfather." Then he paused. "My brother and I get injuries like this all the time." He nodded to Dipper's leg. "I can fix him up." His offer was cut off before it could even be processed.

"Go near him and pay the price." Ford's voice was suddenly low and angered, nothing like Dipper had ever heard from the man before.

Stan spun his twin around, slightly shocking the whole room. "That's enough out of you!" His voice was stern and left no space for arguing. He turned to his two employee's. "I believe your shifts are over." The conman nodded to the door then looked at Mabel. "Past your bedtime sweetie."

"But Dip…"

"I told you to go to bed." Stan cut her off before turning to the tall hunter in the corner. "And you…?"

"Sam." The man responded calmly, as if this kind of thing happened to him all the time.

"Can you really fix the kid?" Stan jabbed a thumb in Dipper's direction as he spoke.

"I can." Sam responded carefully.

"Then do it." The twin now looked at Ford. "You and I are going to talk."

There was silence in the room for several seconds, no one moved or spoke.

"Did I say to putz around?" Stan suddenly glared around the room, making eye contact with each person as he did so. This was no joke, consequences would come if the orders weren't followed.

Everyone finally jumped into motion.

*GFS*

Once Dipper had led Sam to a bathroom with a first-aid kit the hunter went straight to work. Silence filled the room other than Sam's few instructions and a couple of hisses of pain from the twelve year old.

This went on until Sam couldn't take it any longer. "So… Bill?"

The boy didn't seem surprised but answered carefully all the same. "He's the triangle who attacked us." His words were calculated as if he were afraid of what Sam might do with the information.

"I got that much." Sam paused, thinking over the events. "Almost seems like a demon, but not like any I've encountered."

"He's a dream demon." Dipper clarified. "He only has control in the mindscape. We must have all fallen asleep just before he showed up. As for the forest fire, that's a new trick."

Sam eyed the boy. He was so young and yet there was wisdom in his eyes. "And Shooting Star and Pine Tree?"

Dipper tilted his head so he could look in the dirty mirror. "They're nicknames that he gave us."

"Guess that's better than Moose and Squirrel." Sam said just loud enough for Dipper to hear.

The boy gave him a crooked looked, confusion touching his eyes. "What?"

Sam cleared his throat. "It's… uh… It's nothing." Suddenly his phone vibrated. It was Dean… No. Sam was finally getting somewhere with this kid. He didn't have time to answer right now. The call was silenced.

"Dean." Dipper seemed to have read the phone even from the odd side angle. "Your brother, right?" The twelve year old had no problem putting two and two together.

A nod was the silent response from the man.

"Why isn't he here?" The boy tenderly played with the fresh wrap around his leg as he spoke. The motion seemed almost timid, as if Dipper was concerned that he might be overstepping his bounds.

"He's chasing another lead that might help us defeat this demon. It's not like any we've hunted before." Sam rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

At this the twelve year old perked up. "You've hunted demons?!" His voice was both shocked and excited. "Does that mean you can stop Bill?"

"Maybe." Sam didn't want to get the kid too excited but he also felt like admitting that they had a chance might actually give them one. "He's not like any demon we've ever faced, usually they come with lots of black smoke and have to possess a vessel to do anything. But, if it bleeds you can kill it." He hastily added the last part as the kids eyes fell.

"I've never seen Bill bleed." Dipper seemed suddenly upset again.

"Dipper." The voice pipped up from the doorway.

The two boys turned to see Mabel standing there with her pig, Waddles, hugged close to her as if to cover up her whole torso.

"Mabel!" Dipper carefully dropped off the counter and hurried over to his sister, suddenly placing himself defensively between his twin and the hunter. "I thought Stan sent you to bed."

"He did…" Mabel looked carefully at Sam before grabbing Dipper by the arm. "I can't sleep."

Dipper now looked back at Sam carefully, his eyes holding a deep concern for his sister. "I'll come up with you." And the two hurried down the hall.

Sam sat awkwardly for a moment before getting to his feet and wandering towards the gift shop where he had left the older set of twins.

*GFS*

"Stanley, why would you do that?" Ford growled at his brother once they were alone. His brother didn't look at him, still staring down the hall where the twins and the hunter had disappeared. "Stan, look at me. You don't know what hunters are like but I do. They're reckless and dangerous."

"Shut-up." Stanley spat, cutting off the other man.

Ford looked completely shocked, his body jolting back slightly so he had to readjust his glasses. "I beg your…"

"I told you to shut up." Stanley finally turned to his brother. "I don't care what you've been through against hunters. We owe him Dipper and Mabel's lives."

This is not what Ford had been expecting from his twin.

"Maybe he can help us get rid of Bill before he really hurts one of the kids again." Stan now waited for his brother's response but Ford seemed at a lack of words so he continued. "You have tried to get rid of that monstrosity for years with no success. And now he's hurting my family… our family." Stan corrected himself before reaching up and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This has to stop, and if the hunter can help I say we let him."

After a short pause Ford seemed ready to talk. "Hunters are unpredictable. I worked with one once… He used me as bait." The man got closer to his brother's face. "I almost died… and there were others who weren't as lucky as myself."

Stan stood tall to try and be more menacing to his twin, which obviously did nothing to the man his exact height. "The hunter stays and helps. Nothing is more important than those kids."

*GFS*

Sam stepped out from the hallway to the two brothers facing away from one another. Stan was standing with his arms crossed while Ford was facing the opposite direction writing in a red journal.

"Should I let myself out?" Sam wasn't really sure what to do but he had a feeling this was how Bobby used to feel when he had to deal with all Sam and Dean's fights.

Stan jumped, obviously unaware that Sam had been there. "Ah… Is the kid alright?"

Sam nodded as Ford sent him a death glare before returning to his writing.

"Good…" Stanley looked at Ford before rolling his eyes and speaking again. "Are ya willing to help with our little… problem?"

"That's what my brother and I do." Sam said carefully, his eyes kept flitting to Ford who had stopped writing but hadn't turned around.

Stan nodded. "How do you plan on dealing with it?" The conman needed to know more before he would truly rally to the hunters cause.

"I'll come back tomorrow with my brother and with our skills and your family's knowledge we should be able to kill this demon." Sam looked over at Ford who had finally turned around.

"See Ford. This is how you ask for help." Stan suddenly said the words as if to simply spite his brother.

Ford adjusted his glasses but otherwise ignored Stan and turned to Sam. "I am willing to allow this… For the safety of the children. But if anything happens to my family…" The old man moved his trench coat to reveal a futuristic-looking pistol at his hip. "I will personally end you."

Sam nodded. "I actually understand completely. I'll bring Dean back with me tomorrow and we'll come up with a plan to end this."

*GFS*

Sam walked into the motel and let the door close behind him. Dean was sitting at the table a bottle tipped at his lips. The look on his face was that of a long-suffering parent.

The older brother stayed silent for several seconds before speaking. "And where have you been?" He paused to take another sip of his beer before speaking again. "I assume you have a good excuse for ignoring my calls."

"I was in the mystery shack. Patching up the kid, uh… Dipper." Sam admitted as he grabbed his own beer from the fridge and sat across from his brother.

"What happened?" Dean didn't seem too concerned. Kids got hurt all the time, Sammy used to fall in the street while he was playing his one sided games that Dean refused to participate in.

"We were attacked… By a demon." Sam took a swig after speaking.

Dean sat up, almost spitting the liquid he had just poured past his lips. "What?"

"It wasn't like any demon we've ever hunted though." Sam thought back. "Dipper called it a dream demon named Bill. Big yellow triangle who apparently attacks your mind."

"Bill?" Dean sat back solemnly. "The kid in prison mentioned that name."

"Oh yeah?" Sam sounded almost amused.

Yeah…" Dean gave a slight cough as if he were nervous. "He told me Bill wants to kill Dipper."

*GFS*

Dipper's leg didn't exactly hurt, more of a dull ache as he lay in bed. Sleep had been on and off for the boy due to the pain and now he lay only half awake.

Suddenly his twin across the room began to mew. It started off light but got slowly louder until it was almost a yell before it cut off entirely.

The male twin waited for about thirty seconds before speaking. "Mabel?" His voice was soft. Mabel only meowed when she had woken up from a nightmare, it was how she comforted herself back to sleep, and if she had fallen back asleep Dipper didn't want to wake her…. But if she was still awake that meant she had given up and was laying there feeling alone and scared. "Mabel, are you up?" Dipper asked, just loud enough to be heard if she was awake. He had turned to her now, staring for several seconds before deciding the girl had fallen asleep.

Just before he flipped onto his back once more his sister suddenly flopped over and crawled out of bed. She didn't say a word but moved close to her twin, touching his arm for comfort. "I had a nightmare about Bill…" Her voice was soft as if she thought saying the name would summon the demon. "He came to take you away."

Dipper scooted over and patted the bed at his side. Mabel gratefully climbed the bed and lay next to her brother. They had always found comfort in one another's touch.

"Bill can't get us as long as we stay in the shack." Dipper told her before pulling the blanket around them. "And even if he could the mystery twins would stop him… Just like we always do!"

Mabel giggled before digging her face into the pillow and falling asleep. Dipper nodded off just after she did, though her words echoed in his mind as he did so.

*GFS*

Sam and Dean slammed the doors to the impala and walked up to the door.

"Do we knock?" Dean asked almost sarcastically before the door to the shack swung open, causing Dean to grab at his gun.

Stan stood at the door, his attire a white stained undershirt and a pair of striped blue boxers. "Ford, your friends are here." The man laughed as he beckoned the hunters inside.

"They are not my friends, Stanley." The more formal of the twins placed his hands behind his back as he spoke.

"Yeah." Stan laughed again and pointed across his makeshift gift shop. "That's Wendy and Soos. They're my employees," he paused, "the kids are upstairs. They usually aren't up this early."

Sam checked his watch. "It's almost ten."

"Get a couple of kids on summer vacation and this is early, dude." Wendy was leaning on the counter as she spoke but now turned to Stan. "Want me to go wake them?"

"No. Dipper's leg was giving him fits all night and I heard the two talking around one this morning. Let 'em sleep a little." Stan now looked at his brother. "Point-Dexter?"

Ford said nothing, only glaring at Dean.

"I feel slightly unwelcomed." Dean admitted, a little chuckle to his words. Ford remained silent once more. "I'm Dean Winchester…"

"I know who you are." Ford's first words of the day were about as harsh as they come. "As I told your brother yesterday, if you put my family in danger…"

"Sam gave me the rundown." Dean stopped him. "What are we dealing with?"

Ford waited for a few moments before producing his journal from an inner pocket of his coat. "His name is Bill Cipher. He has many rolls in this universe, a dream demon, a chaos god and so forth." He paused to flip pages. "Not in this journal…" He muttered to himself before looking up at the others. "When Stanley opened the portal to bring me back it created a rift."

"So that's why there's two of you." Dean sounded like he's just cracked the case then he paused and rubbed his head. "Actually I still don't understand."

Rolling his eyes Ford proceeded to explain the multiverse. This was a waste of time.

*GFS*

Mabel was pulling Dipper down the stairs, his leg only slowing him down a little as they moved. Once at the bottom the two raced into the gift shop and stopped dead, Waddles bumping into the back of their legs.

Everyone was already gathered around listening to Ford talk about the multiverse and how Stan had gotten him out of the portal.

Dipper grabbed Mabel's arm and gently, the two taking comfort in the touch. "Did we interrupt?" The boy twin spoke up as eyes fell on the siblings.

"No, Dipper, your timing is perfect. As per usual." Ford took a few steps towards the younger set of twins. "I need my journal back." He held out a six-fingered hand expectantly.

There was only a moment of hesitation but then Dipper pulled the journal from his vest. He handed it to his uncle before speaking. "Why do you need this journal?"

"The rift." Was Ford's first response. "As long as it exists in our universe it gives Bill certain powers."

"Well that sounds ominous." Stan said as he grabbed a can of Pitt cola off the counter and began sipping it. The pig had wandered up to Stan and placed its legs on his knees before beginning to oink for the drink. "Get out of here, Waddles." The business man stood on one leg and shook the other to shoo the fat pink creature away.

"Indeed." Ford said as he flipped pages, ignoring the pig comment. "Bill's powers will be a little off all the same since the rift is contained. He's still not an actual part of our universe and anything he does here will drain him. There will be extreme shows of power but then he'll be weak, forced back into the mindscape to recover."

"So that's how he set the forest on fire." Dipper and Mabel had moved forward to jump up onto the counter by Wendy and Soos.

"Precisely." Ford finally found the page on Bill.

"What does he want?" Dean asked in his usual rough manner.

"To take over this dimension and destroy it." Ford spoke as if this was obvious.

Waddles had now walked up to the two hunters and began sniffing around their shoes. Dean took a hesitant step back but the animal advanced and continued his snorting. "Why do you have a pig?" He didn't really want to change the subject but he didn't like the way the pig was staring at him.

"His name is Waddles!" Mabel jumped from her seat and hurried over to pick the pig up and smash their faces together in a hug. "He's my adorable pet pig. Dipper helped me win him earlier this summer." The girl smiled at her twin.

"Not my idea." Dipper said, his voice monotone though he smiled happily at his sister.

"Returning to the problem at hand…" Ford attempted to draw everyone's attention back to their current dilemma. "Bill will do anything to take over our universe. He believes no one can stand in his way and he'll…" The man paused before looking at the kids as if trying to find the right words to the situation. "Get rid of anyone who tries."

Sam and Dean gave each other a small glance, trying to decide if this was a good time to bring up Gideon's information. The older set of twins needed to know but was there really a reason to scare Dipper and Mabel? But before a decision could be made there was a loud noise from outside. It almost sounded like a laugh, though slightly too high and almost metallic.

"No…" Ford spun around. "I was really hoping he'd be out longer."

Mabel had clutched onto Dipper as he jumped from the counter and pulled Mabel so they could hide behind their grunkles. "Bill." Dipper sounded almost out of breath.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Bill's voice was loud and seemed to come from everywhere. "Where are you Pines family? I've come to play!"

Everyone glanced at one another before Ford spoke. "As long as we stay within the house Bill can do nothing." With his words everyone moved to the door to look outside.

Bill was floating near the trees, his posture that of complete ease. "I see you there. Come out and let's have ourselves a little chat."

"Someone paint him like a French-lady." Dean said with an ear to ear grin before Sam gave him a nasty look and the smile fell.

"We should be safe even out on the porch." Ford placed his hand on the doorknob. "No one set foot off the wood of this house. We can distract him until he has a power lapse and is sucked out of this dimension once more."

The small group moved onto the porch to face the demon.

"Look, two more new toys." Bill shifted positions so he could lean on his cane. "Who are the stiffs?"

Sam and Dean gave each other another awkward look but said nothing.

"You have no dominion here." Ford suddenly yelled, actually causing the twelve year olds to jump slightly at the abrupt bark in his voice.

"But I do." Bill would have smiled if he had a mouth. "Look all I want is the rift and the journals, pretty easy for the lot of you to just hand them over."

This time it was Dipper who spoke. "You're not going to trick us again, Bill. We're gonna stop you."

"Oh, Pine Tree…" Bill rolled back slightly to laugh. "I love it when you get all defensive."

Dipper glared but said nothing more as Mabel tightened her grip on his arm.

"The kid's right." Dean stepped forward slightly. "None of your tricks are going to work."

Ford didn't look to happy with the hunter trying to take control of the situation but didn't get the chance to respond before Bill began yelling.

"Alright, now I'm bored." Bill suddenly raised his hands. "Foolish mortals. You can't even begin to comprehend what I'm capable of!" The sky was suddenly covered with clouds, lightning sparking the air with electricity.

"It's just an illusion!" Ford yelled. "He doesn't have the power to do something like this."

Another crack of lightning followed by a boom of thunder and that was it.

Waddles, who had followed Mabel to the porch, suddenly squealed and ran out into the yard. Mabel couldn't stop herself. "Waddles!" She cried out, releasing her brother and trailing the pig.

"No!" Dipper yelled but felt as though he was frozen in shock, along with everyone else.

The pig ran all the way to Bill before squealing in horror a second time and running back to the porch in record time. Mabel was not so lucky.

She was only a few feet away as Bill raised his hand, a blue light encircling the girl. "Guess I'm taking the Shooting Star."

This broke Dipper out of his trance and he was off the porch in a second, though no one seemed to notice as they focused on Mabel. He was across the yard in seconds but he wasn't fast enough.

Bill had Mabel floating in the air at his side, blue covering her eyes as he pulled her close and cradled her at his elbow.

"No!" Dipper yelled, it was only now that the group noticed the boy in the yard as well.

"Dipper, get back here!" Ford yelled but he was ignored.

"Bill, wait!" Dipper had tears in his eyes as he watched the demon try to take his sister. "Take me instead!" He held his arms out as if offering himself as a sacrifice. His head had turned down slightly so his hat covered his face in shadows.

"Hot Belgian Waffles! Dipper!" Now Stan was off the porch, running towards the kids and the demon.

"Sounds like a deal to me!" Bill all too happily accepted, shaking Dippers hand encased in the blue fire before dropping Mabel to the ground.

Dipper leaned down to check on the unconscious girl but he felt a presence wrap around him, stopping him from ensuring his sister was alright. Blue flashed across his eyes as he floated into the air where his sister had just been.

"No! Kid!" Stan yelled, holding his hand out. "Dipper!"

But then he was gone, both Bill and the twelve year old boy disappearing into nothingness.

Stan fell to his knees next to Mabel and pulled the girl up to cradle her in his arms. "Mabel, sweetheart. You gotta wake up!"

Ford was beside his brother now, the two hunters just a few yards away checking the woods for the missing boy and the yellow triangle. Wendy and Soos seemed frozen with fear back on the porch.

Dipper was gone, he had given himself up to save his sister… No one was quite sure why this shocked them. It was exactly the thing both siblings had been doing all summer.

Mabel suddenly moaned.

"Mabel… Sweetie, you're awake!" Stan pulled the girl closer into his protecting arms as if he feared Bill would return for the other half of what he had taken.

"Dipper…" The girl tossed in his arms a little, reaching out to find her brother who wasn't there.

Stan and Ford gave each other nervous looks.

Finally opening her eyes Mabel began shaking her head franticly. Dipper was nowhere to be seen. The images of what had just happened began flooding the girls mind. She could remember chasing Waddles, then Bill and some kind of blue light…. And then there was Dipper's voice, though she couldn't remember what he had said. The pain of hitting the ground and another blue flash. No! It couldn't be... But then again, she knew her twin would do anything for her. Mabel pushed away from Stan and attempted to run in search of her brother. She zigzagged all around, tears covering her cheeks and flooding her eyes until she could no longer see. Stan finally caught up to her and pulled her close again.

"He's gone Mabel…" He whispered as she shoved her face into his shoulder. "He's gone."

*GFS*

Thanks for reading!  
I realized this morning as I was going over my ff accounts that this story actually has more chapters on Fanfiction.net.... An error on my part. I will be posting the chapters as quickly as possible to make up for this. Again so sorry.  
Also a special thanks to Sirenfox who is my amazing Beta for everything I do!  
Please leave your reviews!  
There will be more Supernatural in future chapters, just needed to set some things up first.


	4. Tether

Dipper blinked a few times until his eyes fully opened. Only this time Mabel didn't grab him and pull him close. Without her embrace he only felt cold.

"Well look who's finally awake." Bill's voice broke the boy's haze.

Dipper was on his feet in a split second, his eyes darting around for somewhere to run. It was all white around him the only color in the void was the large yellow triangle floating above him. "Where are we?" The boy demanded an answer from the dream demon.

Bill's eye held a sarcastic surprise. "I'm shocked! Aren't you supposed to be one of the smart ones?"

The boy glared at Bill but said nothing in response.

"We're in my Mindscape." Bill rolled his eye with disappointment.

Dipper felt a glimmer of hope. The mindscape was how the Pine's defeated Bill the first time.

"Don't even think about it kid." The triangle glared down at the boy. "I've had thousands of years to fine-tune this place. I have complete control of everything that happens. No matter how hard you try anything you manage to create won't work."

After a few nervous steps back Dipper spoke again. "Why not go back to your own dimension? Why did you bring me here?"

"My mindscape is the only thing holding open the rift between my world and yours. If I were to go back I would lose the power I've amounted." Bill tossed his hand around a little as if he were bored with what he was saying.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Dipper, a thought which caused him to freeze. "If we're in the mindscape, then where is my body?" Dipper could imagine his unconscious body just lying on the ground for Mabel or one of the uncles to find. What if they thought he was dead and buried him?

"I'm afraid that answer is above your paygrade." Bill advanced so he was towering above the boy. "Don't worry, your family won't find it until we return to Gravity Falls."

"You're…" Dipper swallowed. "You're letting me go?"

Bill began laughing, his little black legs kicking wildly before he slowed to a chuckle and wiped a tear from his eye. "No." For a split second the triangle turned red, looming over Dipper his usually high voice dropping to a dangerously low pitch. A second later Bill was back to his normal self his eye looking bored once more.

The twelve year old yelped and tried to get away but his arms were caught by Bill's hands.

The dream demon swatted Dipper's pine tree hat from his head and placed his fingers against the dipper shaped birthmark on his forehead. Blue light shone across the void around the two as Dipper felt what seemed to be a tight rope wrapped around him, slowly growing in pressure until Bill snapped his fingers and the feeling died as quickly as it had begun. The boy felt his body drop into nothingness.

"What did you do to me?" Dipper demanded his voice shaking a little.

"To us." Bill responded with a slight roll of his eye. Dipper stared a little and still seemed overly confused which caused a loud sigh of annoyance from the triangle. "I bound us, you Mewling Quim. Whatever dimension or mindscape I decide to travel to you will be forced to follow. Also as a special little bonus if anyone tries to harm me you'll take the damage for me." Bill tipped his hat and laughed heavily as Dipper's eyes widened.

*GFS*

Mabel sat on the counter by the register, all her energy gone leaving her head hanging low and legs dangling limply over the counter. Soos and Wendy had been sent home while Sam, Stan and Ford all argued in the next room. The girl sighed as Dean walked in and leaned on the counter next to her.

"Rough day." The hunter commented.

Mabel sniffled.

"Hey, I know what it's like. Losing your brother… heh… I've lost Sam more times than I can count." His words were met with silence, though she was staring at him now. "Sam's always been my responsibility… I practically raised him." Dean chuckled as a memory came back to him. "When Sam was about your age we went on a hunt, a witch if I remember right. Sammy saw her sneaking up on me and tackled her. She threw Sam into a wall… He was hurt real bad. I took him to the hospital while our dad went after her." The hunter paused to glance at Mabel who was curled up near him for the rest of the story. "He woke up a few hours later and just gave me the dopiest look. And do you know what he said to me?"

"Thank you?" Mabel guessed, her thoughts fully caught in the story making her momentarily forget how depressed she was.

Dean smiled before continuing. "He just yelled Jerk, right in my face."

Mabel chuckled before grabbing her knees and kicking her legs as some of her boundless energy seemed to return. "Dipper's always doing stuff like that." She admitted in a soft voice, the small smile the story had brought to her lips disappeared at her brother's name as she stubbornly blinked away her tears. She had to be strong, Dipper would want her to be strong.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Dean's words brought Mabel to face him. "Siblings always have a way of coming back, no matter what. Dipper's gonna be fine."

Mabel smiled before kicking her legs playfully against the counter as the man's gruff voice inexplicably cheered her up.

Before either could say anything else Dean's phone rang.

"Cas." Dean all but yelled into the device.

"Where are you, Dean?" The angel's gravelly voice came across the phone.

"I'm in Oregon." Dean smiled at Mabel as he stepped away.

"On a hunt?" Cas' voice sounded confused.

"No we're here for the scenery." Dean's words dripped with sarcasm as his hand gently pat his leg in slight exasperation.

"Oh." Cas responded, oblivious to the humor behind Dean's words.

"Yes Cas, we're on a hunt." Dean rubbed his eyes in irritation. This angel was going to be the death of him, he just knew it.

"I don't understand. Are you hunting or admiring shrubbery?" Cas seemed genuinely confused now.

"We're hunting Cas." Dean barked into the speaker of the phone.

"What are you hunting?"

Dean walked back over by Mabel and slumped on the counter. "Honestly… We're not sure. This thing is not one of our usual playmates." He admitted.

"Playmates?" Cas' voice cut off and Dean could tell he'd dawned that squinted look which meant he didn't understand. "You seem confused, Dean. Perhaps I should come help you."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Will I need a boat to get there?" Cas' voice held no sarcasm, only genuine concern.

"No Cas it's a… You know what, we're in Gravity Falls, Oregon." Dean finally gave up.

"Gravity Falls." There was the sound of paper rattling behind the angel's words.

A laugh almost touched Dean's lips. After all the image of an angel in a trench coat fighting with road maps was worthy of a good laugh.

The sudden silence on Cas' end of the phone caught Dean slightly off guard. The hunter straightened, waiting for the angel's bad news.

"Cas? Cas are you there?"

"Dean, do not engage this creature. I'll be there soon." And the phone clicked off.

With an annoyed sigh Dean put the phone in his pocket and turned to Mabel.

"Is Cas your girlfriend?" The girl asked with an innocent smile shinning on her face.

"What? No!" Dean's face turned red. "Cas… He's an angel."

"Oh." Mabel nodded. "Gottcha." She winked as she jumped off the counter and headed for the next room.

Dean was frozen in shock for a moment before jumping up to follow the girl, fully intending to explain. He wasn't too keen on a twelve year old girl thinking he and Cas were… Yeah… That didn't sit well with him. However Mabel was quick on her feet and had already disappeared into the next room where Dean could already hear the raised voices.

"No, Ford." Stan jabbed his finger into his twin's chest, not noticing Mabel enter the room with Dean at her heels. "This is your fault! If you hadn't been poking your nose where it didn't belong none of this would have happened."

"How was I supposed to know these results would follow my actions here?" Ford threw his hands in the air as he yelled the words.

"It doesn't matter if you knew or not. You did this." Stan all but punched his brother the only thing that stopped him was Sam clearing his throat and shaking his head towards Mabel.

"Look, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. All that matters now is getting Dipper back." Sam announced loudly cutting off any further confrontation.

"He's right, but how?" Ford said as he tapped a finger at his chin.

"Sam, Cas called. He advised that we don't poke the bear." Dean announced hoping to stop the growing awkward silence that had filled the room as well as hopefully keeping the kicked puppy look off Mabel's face. If she was anything like Sam it would be showing up any second now.

"We still have to get Dipper back though, right?" Mabel looked hopefully at each adult in the room as she spoke, eyes shining like stars.

"Of course we're getting him back sweetie." Stan knelt down and placed a hand on the now smiling girls shoulder. As it always did, his usually gruff exterior melted for Mabel.

"Who is this Cas?" Ford advanced to Dean. He didn't like the idea of working with two hunters, three was far too many.

Hearing the question Mabel spun around, an ear to ear grin spanning her face. "He's Dean's angel!" She crowed, placing her hands behind her back while she rocked back and forth on her toes and batted her eyelashes playfully.

"What? No!" Dean tried to explain but was cut short by Sam snorting loudly and turning away to laugh in the corner. "Guys, Cas is a real angel with wings and everything! Sam tell them."

But Sam was still cackling uncontrollably in the corner and no one else seemed willing to listen to him.

*GFS*

Dipper sucked in a deep breath as he tried to sit up but stopped at the pounding in his head. His glanced around before realizing he was no longer in Bill's mindscape. In fact he was in a small cave laying spread eagle on the ground. Shaking his head the twelve year old rolled over and crawled from the tiny space to look around.

He was in Gravity Falls. Dipper was sure of it. There was even a gnome in the trees above him, who, upon noticing the boy, began using acorns to pelt Dipper's head.

A deep sigh was halfway out his lips when the thought occurred to him. If what Bill said was true and Dipper was in Gravity Falls then…

Dipper began frantically looking around the woods for Bill but found him nowhere. He had to be here somewhere. What if he was at the shack? Hurting his family, hurting Mabel! Quickly deciding where he was the boy shot off in the direction he believed the shack was in.

Running for so long and fast was painful, especially for a bookworm like Dipper. But he didn't stop, his legs ached and his lungs felt as though they were going to explode, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Finally the shack came into view, fast approaching as he sped towards the porch.

Unfortunately the extra speed he had added when he saw the shack made it near impossible to stop. His feet collided with the steps and he felt like he was sliding through jello. He knew before it happened, his whole body seemed to go tight in anticipation before his face slammed into the hard wood of the porch.

*GFS*

Everyone froze as a loud bang resounded from just outside the shack.

"Sam." Dean barked, only needing to say his name and his brother went from laughing at him to holding his pistol and following Dean to the next room.

They younger Winchester held his handgun up in one hand so he could reach forward to the door with the other. Dean held his own gun up near his head before giving Sam a nod. The door was thrown open and Dean launched out with Sam on his heels.

However Dean immediately stopped causing Sam to plow into his back. Before Sam could chew his brother out he saw the source of Dean's sloppy maneuver.

Dipper lay across the stairs, his head slightly raised to look at the two hunters. Fear spread into his eyes as he gazed at their drawn weapons, a bruise purpling across his jawline.

Like a flash of lightning Mabel had run between the hunters legs and launched into the air all but landing on Dipper as she yelled his name.

For a split second the boy forgot the purpose for his run and began laughing while Mabel pulled him into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." Mabel's words were accompanied by tears falling on Dipper's shoulder.

These words brought Dipper back to the situation at hand. He pulled away a little though he kept his hand intertwined with Mabel's, he just couldn't bring himself to part with her. Keeping a tight grip on her hand he turned to his uncle. "Great-Uncle Ford…" His gaze flitted to the hunters before continuing. "If I'm here then so is Bill."

Ford adjusted his glasses, kneeling so he was eye level with the boy. "What do you mean?"

Dipper swallowed. "Bill… He…" What was he supposed to say? Nothing he could possibly say would make any of this better but he couldn't not tell them. "He did a spell… Some kind of tether."

"Slow down." Ford placed his abnormal hand on Dipper's shoulder. "I can't help without understanding. Start at the beginning. Where have you been?"

It was obvious by the deep breath Dipper took in that he didn't want to dwell on this topic but he spoke anyway. "Bill took me to his mindscape."

"What?" Ford almost jumped back in surprise, the whole scene making it look as though he had been physically shocked.

"I don't understand how." Dipper added quickly. "And while we were there he cast this spell. He said it tethers us together. Linking us so whatever dimension or mindscape Bill goes to I'll be dragged there too."

Silence.

Dipper began fidgeting, his free hand pulling at the hem of his shirt. Mabel suddenly squeezed his hand, reassuring him that everything was going to be alright.

"You can make it go away, right Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked hopefully as she turned to look at Ford with huge doe eyes, her hand in Dipper's like he was her lifeline.

Stanford stood, eyes flashing between the children attempting to keep his expression calm. No need to alarm them anymore than they already were. "I've never heard of anything like this. But I can look for a solution." He quickly added the last bit when his niece cried out loudly and buried her face in her brother's shoulder.

A sigh came from Stan as he placed a hand on both Dipper and Mabel's shoulders. "Come on inside you two."

Dipper and Mabel glanced at one another, silently agreeing before following their uncles to the door. Mabel hoped over the threshold like it was a game but when Dipper tried to do the same he was thrown backwards. The boy careened right into Dean's legs almost knocking the hunter off his feet.

Dean almost toppled but made it look smooth by bending down a little so he was next to the child. "You okay kid?" He asked as he pulled Dipper to his feet.

"The protective spell." Ford slapped his hand to his face. "It must stop you from entering the house, just like it does to Bill."

"Get rid of it then." Stan growled as Mabel clung to his leg, tears threating to spill from her eyes.

"No!" Dipper jumped away from Dean and held his hand out to his uncle. "If I'm here then Bill is too and we can't let him get in."

"He's right." Ford was rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses as he spoke. "We have to protect the Shack from that demon."

Suddenly Bill's laughter filled the air. His shape descending to cast a shadow across the Pines' and the hunters. "That's right Point-Dexter! Protect the Shack." The triangle snapped his fingers and Dipper was wretched from his spot on the porch. His body fell forward as invisible ropes around his ankles drug him towards Bill. Dean, almost on impulse, grabbed for Dipper but the boy slid right through his fingers and off the porch. The tugging only stopped when the boy landed in front of the demon who then forced him to his knees below the triangle like a good little puppet.

"Isn't this fun?" Bill taunted as he pet Dipper's head condescendingly, ignoring the boy's flinch under the touch.

Mabel's eyes darted around, she had to find something, anything that might help her brother. Dean was still kneeling where he had helped Dipper up, his pistol stuffed haphazardly in the back of his jeans. She wasn't going to let Dipper disappear again, not if she could help it.

Sneaking forward she was careful to not attract anyone's attention, waiting until she was in just the right spot… There! In a moment of adrenaline she shot forward, grabbing the pistol and darting away from possible adult interference. She had never handled a real gun before the closest she'd ever come to that was the Grappling hook which she guessed would be nothing like this very real weapon. It also felt extremely different from the crossbow she had recently shot out one of the shack windows with. But she was prepared to do anything she could to protect Dipper.

Anything.

Mabel had a short moment while everyone was just realizing what was happening in which she took aim, sucking a deep breath into her lungs and holding it there. The noise alarmed Stan who called out while Sam dove at the girl.

"Stop! What are you doing, Mabel?" But his yell came too late.

The gun fired. Movies could never have prepared Mabel for the shot. The kick from the gun caused it to dislodge from her hands, barely missing her head as it flew away. It also had the force to send her stumbling back where Sam caught her before she hit the ground, he pulled her away from the weapon which she now realized she had no clue how to aim.

The shot only grazed Bill's arm, but to the surprise of all it was Dipper who howled in pain, his head lowing under his hat and his hand grabbing at his fresh wound.

"Ha!" Bill laughed. "Guess the kid forgot to tell you. The binding spell makes little Dipper here take all my damage. That was a good test though, glad to know it works!"

Mabel froze. She did this. It was all her fault… She shot Dipper.

*GFS*

As always my amazing friend Sirenfox was Beta on this story.  
Please make sure to review and let me know what you think!


	5. Puppet

Warning - This chapter may contain trigger warnings. It is in the last section for anyone who wants to skip over it.

*GFS*

Mabel didn't dare move… Her brother was hunched over his injured limb in an attempt to hide the bleeding wound from the onlookers. He was hurt and it was her fault.

Tear were gathering in the girl's eyes when bill began laughing hysterically. "Oh man!" The triangle cackled. "You should see your faces!"

"Bill!" Ford's firm voice warned from Mabel's side. "If you hurt my nephew…"

"I did nothing Sixer." The demon kicked back as if he was sitting in an armchair. "As I recall, Shooting-Star fired the gun."

"Mabel!" Dipper had tilted his head towards his sister, one hand still clutched around the abrasion on his arm. "This isn't your fault! You didn't do this."

"That's debatable!" Bill interjected. "Well!" He clapped his hands together. "Ta-ta! It's been fun but we should get going… Lot's to do. But don't worry… I'll be back… I'll always be back."

There was a flash of blue light and Bill was gone. Dipper's body rocked dangerously for a moment before toppling to the ground.

"Dipper!" Mabel pulled away from Sam, who had grabbed the girl just after she'd fired the gun, and ran to her brother. "Dip-Dop?" She cried as she dropped to her knees and gently shook his shoulder.

Stan knelt beside her, his fingers pressing to the side of Dipper's neck. "He's alive, sweetie." Mabel only cried out in response, burying her face in the Grunkle's arm. "It's okay, Mabel." Stan ground out, pulling Dipper into his arms, ignoring the blood that stained his white shirt.

"Stan… The barrier…" Ford whisper but his twin paid no attention and he walked Dipper into the Shack, Mabel clinging to his side.

Oddly enough, nothing happened. Dipper's body was able to pass seamlessly through the shield and into the TV room where Stan finally set him down in the armchair.

Mabel crawled up beside him and curled up like a cat before turning her big doe-eyes to Ford, who stood in the doorway.

The Winchesters stood just outside the room exchanging nervous looks.

Ford places all six of his fingers on his chin and jaw, rubbing it slightly in thought. "Hmmm…" He sighed finally, lowing his hand. "Perhaps the barrier didn't work on him because his soul is residing with Bill instead of in his body.

Mabel's eyes saddened but she still stared at him expectantly.

"I've never heard of anything like this before…" Ford stammered. "When his soul returns it might not be able to get to his body… His body might be pulled outside by the binding spell so his soul can return…"

He was cut off by Mabel's sudden cry.

"Shut up, Point-Dexter." Stan growled as he moved away from the kids and towards his brother. "You're scaring her." And with that he dragged his twin from the room.

Mabel sniffled. Her fingers brushing the bangs from Dipper's face, momentarily revealing his birthmark before they fell back into place once more. "It's okay, Dipper." Another uncontrolled sob from Mabel. "It's okay… We're going to get you back…" She sniffed, using her sleeve in an attempt to dry her face. "I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

Sam watched the muttering girl from his place in the doorway. At some point Dean wandered out to the Impala, returning with a handful of gauze. Sam watched at his brother carried it over to the children and wrapped up Dipper's arm, once he was finished he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and whispered something to her before standing and walking back to Sam's side.

"Cas should be here soon." Dean's posture was rigid, keeping his back to the twins behind him. "Maybe he can help us fix this." And with that the elder Winchester walked away.

Sam didn't move… He just stood there in the doorway watching the twins as Mabel seemed to relax into her brother's side. Still he stood watch over them, like a silent sentry.

*GFS*

Dipper opened his eyes.

White…

He was in Bill's mindscape once more.

Pain still throbbed in Dipper's arm but when he looked down at it he all but jump backwards in shock. The cut wasn't red or bleeding as it should have been… No. It was bright blue with what looked like cracks tracking over his veins, spanning away from the laceration.

"What is this?" Dipper whispered to himself, not really expecting an answer.

"That's the magic of the binding spell." Bill appeared a few feet away, causing Dipper to yelp and fall backwards. "Yeesh kid. Relax would ya?"

Dipper stood, adjusted his hat and attempted to glare at the Dream Demon before him. "What did you do?"

Bill's eye narrowed. "Did you already forget? The binding spell?" He scoffed a little. "Technically speaking you're sister shot you."

"Leave her out of this!" Dipper yelled, his face flushing with anger. Bill had no right to even think of talking about Mabel like that.

"Inside voices, Pine-Tree." Bill rolled his eye.

"You did this!" Dipper continued yelling. "This is your fault, not hers." He paused for a moment. "Why? What was the purpose?" Another pause, as if he was waiting for Bill to respond. "Answer me!" When he still didn't get a response he began searching his pocket for something to throw at the floating demon, finding nothing he actually removed his shoes and began throwing them.

Now Bill had had enough. He snapped his fingers, black ropes appeared and shot out towards Dipper. The boy yelped and tried to run, but it was no use. The ropes chased him down, wrapping themselves around him like snakes. Two caught his knees and two more rolled around his knees. Around both wrists, encompassing his elbows and under his armpits to wrap around his shoulders. Once the boy was encased in the ropes they dragged him back towards Bill, then lifted him from his feet so he dangled before the triangle. The ropes at his shoulders strained against his weight, tightening painfully.

"Ha!" Bill actually laughed, as he reached out to touch one of the ropes. "Now you really are a puppet."

"Bill…" Dipper struggled. "Let me go!"

"Would you shut up already? Jeez kid…" Bill muttered as he turned away, hands tucked behind his back.

"Let me go!" Dipper repeated, a bit louder this time.

Bill lifted one hand and snapped his fingers once more. A new rope appeared and slid down, coiling around Dipper's neck before pulling tight. Dipper gagged, his airway now cut off.

"That's better." Bill laughed as he turned to look at the boy once more. "What was that?" He mocked, putting his hand up to his ear for a moment. "Exactly what I thought… Nothing."

A few more seconds passed before Bill seemed to decide that Dipper had learnt his lesson and allowed the rope to loosen just enough for the boy to breath.

"Now…" Bill tilted to the side a little, examining the human. "Have you learned your lesson, Pine-Tree?"

Dipper was too busy gasping for air to respond.

"Perfect. Now stay quiet." And Bill turned away once more.

*GFS*

Two days.

Two days of Mabel refusing to leave Dipper's side.

Two days Ford hadn't come up from the basement.

Two days of Stan attempting to distract himself… and everyone around him.

Two days of Dipper laying unmoving in the armchair. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of his chest it would have been easy to assume he was dead.

"What is taking him so long?" Dean growled a little as he sat at the kitchen table next to Sam.

"Cas isn't as crazy a driver as you." Sam rolled his eyes. "It's gonna take him a little longer to get here." The words were as much for Sam himself as they were for Dean. "He'll be here soon."

The Winchesters had taken to being guardians over the Pines family… After all, they were all to upset to do so themselves.

"What kind of evil does something like this?" Dean nodded towards the TV room, which could be seen through the kitchen doorway.

Sam just shook his head, not knowing how to respond.

"When I find him, I'm going to rip him limb from limb until there's nothing left." Dean spoke once more, his eyes narrowing in a predatory way.

A few more moments passed in silence, only interrupted the sound of soft meowing coming from where Mabel lay in the armchair.

The Winchesters shared a look before Sam stood and move towards the TV room.

"Hey, Mab…" He was cut off by an echoing pounding on the front door.

In unison the brothers moved towards the sound, both ready to attack if necessary. As they neared the door Dean noticed Mabel jump onto the stairwell behind them, and for a moment he wondered when she had woken up.

Then Sam opened the door.

"Sam. Dean." Cas' monotone greeting echoed in the hallway.

"Cas!" Dean, as always, was caught somewhere between happy and angry to see the angel.

There was a small thump from behind them as Mabel jumped off the stairs and ran up to the newcomer. "This is Cas?" She eyed the man up and down. "He does seem like your type, Dean."

Dean felt heat rush to his face. "For the final time… Cas and I aren't together. My type is more like… women." That comeback didn't come out right.

"Oh, right." Mabel winked.

"Cas, we have a problem." As funny as this was, Sam decided it was time to get down to business.

"Yes." Cas nodded thoughtfully. "The two of you have many problems."

"No… That's not what I meant." Sam motioned for the angel to follow him into the TV room. "This is our problem." He motioned to Dipper's resting form.

Cas knelt down and placed a hand on the boys forehead. "Odd…"

"What's odd?" Mabel was struggling to hold still, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"His essence…" Cas' eyebrows arched. "He's not here."

"We know that." Dean rolled his eyes. "Can you bring him back?"

After a moment of thought Cas shook his head. "This is beyond me. Did I not tell you it was unwise to engage this beast?"

"We didn't have much of a choice." Dean snapped in an annoyed fashion.

"The creatures here are powerful." Cas said as if he were in deep thought, although he really just seemed to be ignoring Dean's outburst.

"Why is that?" Sam wondered aloud.

Cas sighed. "When an archangel falls there are repercussions. When Lucifer fell, Hell was formed. Eve's fall created purgatory."

"Eve was an archangel?" Sam questioned.

"Arguably the weakest, but yes." Cas continued. "When Gabriel… left…" He chose the word as if he didn't know what else to say. "He did create something upon impact. This area and its dimensional instability."

"So you're saying that Gabriel created all of this?" Dean knit is eyebrows together as he tried to work everything out.

"Yes and no." Cas squinted at the hunter. "He opened the dimensional tear."

At some point during the conversation Mabel had crawled up onto the arm of the chair. "Can he help?" She asked hopefully.

Sam shook his head. "He's dead."

Silence.

Then Dipper shot up into sitting position. His eyes were wide, hands darting up to his neck as if fighting to get something off. When he found nothing there he pulled his hands away so he could look at his wrists. His whole body was shaking as if he were fighting the urge to curl up into a little ball of fear.

"Dipper!" Mabel dove onto her brother, seemingly oblivious to the fear the boy had just been caught in.

"Mabel!" Everything else seemed forgotten as Dipper hugged his twin, holding her tight as if he hadn't seen her in years. He then hissed in pain before pulling away and looking at his bandaged arm.

"Oh my gosh… Oh my gosh…" Mabel began to freak out, tears welling in her eyes. "Dipper…. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

Dipper placed a hand on her shoulder, silencing the girl. "Mabel, its fine." He held up the arm. "It's not even that bad, see?"

A small smile touched the girl's lips.

"What's going on?" Stan and Ford appeared in the doorway, probably alerted by Mabel's yelling.

"Dipper's awake!" Mabel cheered, throwing her arms around the boy's neck.

Ford stepped forward, quickly checking over Dipper for injuries. "Dipper, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

With a side glance at Mabel and a nervous swallow Dipper replied. "I'm…" He hesitated. "I'm okay."

"Who's the stiff?" Stan grumbled, pointing his cane at Cas with suspiciously narrowed eyes. He was dressed as Mr. Mystery so he must have been running the gift shop before rushing over.

"I am Castiel." The angel gave an sitff nod.

"Right…" Stan squinted. "He with you?" He lifted his eyepatch to look at the Winchesters.

"Yeah… He is." Dean rolled his eyes.

Stan eyed Cas for a moment as the angel simply stared at him. "What?"

Cas only continued to stare.

"Just ignore him." Dean elbowed Cas' side. "What did we talk about?"

"Personal space." Cas offered.

"No… Well, yes… But the other thing." Dean stammered.

"Not watching people while they sleep." Can tilted his head, not understanding what this had to do with anything at the moment.

"No…" Dean rubbed his forehead in an annoyed manner. "Don't stare at people Cas… Humans don't do that."

"Where do you suggest I stare?" Cas seemed confused.

"Don't stare!" Dean shook his head. "I don't have the patience for this."

"I agreed to let you two into my home." Ford spoke up, glaring at the Winchesters. "Why is he here?"

"He's backup." Sam defended. "He might be able to help us defeat Bill."

Ford looked about to retaliate when Stan cut in. "When was the last time we all ate?"

No one responded but in the silence Dipper's stomach rumbled.

"My point exactly." Stan pointed at the boy. "I'll send Soos to get something at Greasy's. Dipper, go take a shower and maybe wash your cloths. You smell awful." Though it was obvious Stan was joking around to lighten the mood Dipper still seemed to take personal offense.

"Laundry is a waste of time! I'm a busy guy!" The boy argued defensively.

Dean elbowed Sam's side. "See! I'm not the only one!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah Dean. Proof you act like a 12 year old."

*GFS*

Dipper stood with a towel around his waist, wiping the condensation from the mirror.

He had been slightly shocked when he'd removed the gauze from his arm and found the cut to be normal. No blue lines or cracks, just a red gash.

He looked up at the mirror, his hand moving towards his chin. He's fallen… He'd hit his head on the porch… There was no way a hit like that wouldn't have resulted in a bruise. But here he stood, no purple marking anywhere on his face.

It was odd. He's felt the pain… he knew his chin was bruised. So why was it not there?

And what was the purpose of Bill's trip to this dimension anyway? He hadn't bothered the Pines family since Dipper had awoken… It all seemed off.

A thought slid into Dipper's mind. Maybe… It would make sense… Of course, having the scientific mind he had Dipper would need to test the theory.

Knowing Grunkle Stan kept a pocket knife in almost every room in the house, a practice Dipper didn't understand, the boy began searching drawers and cabinets until he found it. A bright red Swiss Army Knife.

"Dipper!" Stan's voice was followed by pounding on the door. "Stop singing Disco Girl and come down. Food's here."

Ignoring the joke Dipper closed his fist around the knife. "I'll be down in a minute."

*GFS*

Dinner had been quite the adventure. Ford had sat quietly at the table, while sending the hunters and their angel death glares. Sam and Dean had sat as far away from the man as possible with Cas leaning against the wall behind them. Dipper had been relatively quiet, listening to Stan and Mabel as they seemed to have a 'who can be louder' competition.

Now Dipper felt full and his pajamas were warm against his skin. Mabel was snoring across the room… Dipper had thought she'd never fall asleep… But there she was, Waddles curled up under one of the girl's arm.

Dipper had waited for almost an hour, to make sure she was asleep, before sitting up. He slid the knife from his pocket and ran his fingers along the cold metal.

He wasn't a depressed child… perhaps a social outcast… maybe not living up to expectations… but he'd never felt the need to do anything like this.

He pulled the blade from its sheath, the silvery edge reflecting his own face back at him. Taking a deep breath he placed the sharpened edge against his wrist and slid it across.

It hurt a little, more like an itch than real pain. For a moment his skin was split, but no blood welled up in the cut. Instead the skin slowly pulled itself back together.

Dipper stared. It had worked.

Obviously science called for another test.

Ten cuts later and Dipper found himself still unharmed.

So this binding spell worked both ways…

*GFS*

Thank you so much for reading. You guys are amazing! Don't forget to review!  
Thanks to SirenFox my amazing Beta.  
So this is the last of the quick post chapters... I have the next chapter halfway done but it has been giving me some real trouble so I can't say how soon it will be out. Sorry again for the mix up but hopefully these last few chapters made up for it!


	6. Cliffhanger

Dean stared at the thing before him. The sign named the display ‘The Sascrotch’… The display itself looking something like a gorilla costume stuffed with, Dean didn’t want to know what, and wearing a pair of dirty underwear (which Dean suspected had once belonged to the Shack’s handyman.  
With a slight shiver Dean moved through the “museum”.  
‘Thigh-clops’… A mannequin leg with short hair and a fake eye glued to the shin.  
‘’Pterodactyl’… Dean was pretty sure it was actually a stuffed pelican spray painted green with all the feathers glued together.  
‘Giants Ear’… It looked like a giant fake ear made from those peanut marshmallows all chewed up and jammed together in the general shape of an ear.  
Dean came to another display and paused reading the label aloud before chuckling. “Six-Pack-O’lope…” Dean laughed a little louder at the absurd name attached to the well chiseled mannequin with a jack-o’lope head on top.  
“We offer tours, you know.” Stan was standing in the doorway, dressed as Mr. Mystery complete with a lifted eye-patch, a Pitt soda in hand.  
Dean took the opportunity to step away from Stan’s creations and towards the man himself. “Does anyone actually fall for this stuff?”  
“The world is full of gullible suckers just waiting for me to scam them.” The old man responded with a slight chuckle.  
“Huh…” Dean glanced around once more. “I guess if it puts food on the table.”  
“Better than running credit card scams.” Stan’s words had Dean narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “I’m a professional scam-artist… I know one when I see one.” Stan added as he watched they younger man’s reaction.  
Dean had to physically shake off his shock. “I wish Sam and I could do something normal or at least close to it but when you do the things we do you make enemies.” He felt a little odd trying to excuse his family’s behavior to the older man.  
“Ever think about faking your own death?” Stan took a sip of his soda. “Get a fresh start?”  
“We’ve both tried.” Dean admitted. “But when you live a life like ours even faking death doesn’t keep you safe. Hunters never truly get out… The job gets you one way or another.”  
Stan took another long swig of his soda. “You almost sound like my nerdy brother, except I can actually understand all the words coming out of your mouth.” A slight chuckle followed the words.  
“What’s going on with him anyway?” Dean was ready for a subject change.  
“Ford?” Stan seemed to think for a moment before responding. “He’s protective.” The old man finally admitted. “Not just over his family but over his work as well… We used to be like Dipper and Mabel, but we had a fight and things were just never the same.”  
Dean nodded. “Sam and I get in a lot of fights… Sometimes it’s just hard to come back from all the lies we weave.”  
“You want my advice?” Stan leveled the other man with a hard stare. “Talk to each other. Don’t let what’s between the two of you grow until it just comes out. That never ends well.”  
“Is that what you and Ford did?” Dean asked.  
Stan simply snorted at that.  
Dean nodded a little before answering. “It’s good advice from an old con-man.”  
“HA…” Stan shook his head a little as he responded. “Guess I had to wise up at some point.” He finished before taking another swig.  
For a split-second Dean was caught in a flashback, finding himself waiting for Stan to call him an idjit… But the word never came. Stan wasn’t Bobby, though he reminded Dean of the surly old hunter… Dean found himself pushing the thoughts away, he didn’t need this right now.  
“Grunkle Stan?” The two men turned to find Mabel hovering in the doorway.  
“What is it sweaty?” Stan set his soda on the counter, giving his niece his undivided attention.  
“Dipper never woke up.” Mabel’s words seemed to rip the air apart and leave an uncomfortable silence in their wake.  
Dean’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was always in awe that something could be so evil that it derived joy from tearing families and children apart.  
“It’s ok…” Mabel continued when neither man spoke. Her voice was sad, but a small fake smile touched her lips anyway. “Dean was right… Dipper will come back… He always comes back.”  
Stan gapped for a moment before nodding. “Let’s go check on him.”  
The two Pines exited the room, Mabel clinging to her uncle.  
*GFS*  
Sam was officially lost. He’d begun wandering the house as soon as Dean read the name of Stan’s first attraction... However, he now found himself hopelessly lost in the maze of doors.  
Finally, he found something of interest. The door he had just opened looked like it had once been disguised as part of the wall and inside was even more interesting. A crystal paperweight was casting a rainbow of light across the walls. A desk with a quill, spilled ink and papers scattered across it. Several bookshelves sat sporadically against the walls as well as a large sofa sitting against one of the walls.  
Sam stepped quietly towards one of the shelves and reached out to the first book to catch his eye, ‘Law of the Land Vol 1’.  
“What are you doing in my room?” Ford’s angered voice came from the doorway.  
Sam spun around, dropping the book in the process. “I… um…” The Winchester sputtered for a moment before setting on a simple, “I’m sorry… I didn’t realize…”  
“Perhaps you shouldn’t be wandering around my house.” Ford accused moving from his post in the doorway to pick up his book from the floor.  
“I’m sorry…” Sam repeated. “I just…”  
“A law book?” Ford adjusted his glasses as he looked skeptically from the book to the younger man.  
“Uh yeah…” Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “I was taking law classes at Stanford…”  
Ford’s eyes narrowed causing Sam to go quiet. “Scores?” It was obvious the old man was trying to catch Sam in a lie.  
“174.” Sam gave a small smile.  
Ford nodded, a flicker of approval in his eyes. “So why did you quit?” He had switched gears and now seemed to be picking at Sam personally.  
“My dad went missing… Dean asked me to help him look…” Sam cut off and had to bite his lip… Even all these years later this was painful. “I was only gone a few days but when I went home I found my girlfriend the same way my dad found my mom when I was a baby… Stuck to the ceiling, cut across the stomach before being lit on fire by a demon.” Sam paused again taking a deep breath before adding. “I had to find what did that to her… I couldn’t stand…” He went quiet.  
Ford’s face seemed to fall a little. “Oh.” His voice was soft, a sound Sam had only heard when the man spoke to the younger set of twins. “I’m sorry.”  
Sam nodded, having to blink a few tears away before he could say anything. “It’s ok… We found what was responsible and Dean shot it.” There was a silence for a moment before Sam spoke again. “That’s why we do what we do. No one should have to go through that. Not if we can stop it.”  
Ford looked down at the book for a moment before placing it back on the shelf and letting out a small sigh. “I apologize for my behavior as of recent. I suppose I am trying to avoid anything like that happening to my family. I’ve made mistakes and I don’t want those mistakes to hurt them. We have to do what we can.”  
*GFS*  
Dipper blinked.  
No… Not this again.  
“Hey there puppet.” Bill was floating a few feet above Dipper, examining his nails like he had just received a pedicure.  
The boy struggled to get to his feet but found himself unable to with the tangled of ropes slithering about him as if they were snakes.  
“Now, are you going to behave this time, or do I need to restrain you.” Bill pulled his hand away from his eye and held it up, ready to snap and give the order for the ropes to entangle themselves around the boy’s neck.  
Dipper had only just opened his mouth when he felt one of the ropes sliding around his throat. His jaw clamped shut so hard his teeth made a horrible clacking noise, which he could feel reverberating through his skull.  
“Well, now that that is taken care of…” Bill extended both arms, so Dipper could see ten or so blue lines, similar to the ones Dipper himself had the last time he was here, trailing up Bill’s limbs. “Would you care to explain this, Pine-Tree?”  
Shaking his head frantically, Dipper tried to pull away but found the ropes pulling him towards the dream demon.  
“Not gonna answer?” Bill was beginning to look a little red around the edges, his voice going impossibly deep. “Fine!” The triangle snapped his fingers, the ropes tangling tight around Dipper’s neck. “If you’re not going to talk then I’ll make sure you can’t.”  
*GFS*  
“So, how do we beat this thing?” Dean growled, one of his hands balling up in a tight fist on the table.  
“Rock salt? An exorcism?” Sam suggested, looking through an old book that Dean couldn’t for the life of him figure out where it could have come from. Seriously, even in the middle of nowhere Sam couldn’t be without a book for more than a few minutes.  
“I do not believe that would work. He’s not that kind of demon.” Cas responded.  
“Then what kind of demon is it?! If we can’t do this with our usual methods what are we supposed to do? We can’t just sit around here with our thumbs up our…” Dean yelled, slamming his fist against the table.  
“That’s exactly what you’re going to do!” Ford came through the doorway, his journal open and in hand, cutting Dean off. “If you injure Bill it injures my nephew, and if anything happens to him…” The threat was left hanging in the air between them.  
“Alright, Alright.” Dean grumbled, leaning back in his chair. “We get it old man.”  
Ford gave Dean a disgusted look before slamming his open journal on the table between the other three. “I found this drawing in a cave near here. It is said that this can defeat Bill.” He removed his hand to reveal a rough sketch of a wheel with Bill at the center. “The cipher circle.”  
Sam was on his feet in an instant, trying to get a better look at the pages, while Dean crossed his arms and glared at Ford.  
“So, we draw this, trick him into entering it and it will trap him? Like a Devil’s trap?” Dean gave a small huffing noise. “So, why haven’t you done it yet?”  
“I have.” Ford’s fists clenched at his sides. “It’s not that simple. This appears to be more than a mere drawing.”  
“Bill called Dipper and Mabel Pine-Tree and Shooting Star…” Sam ran his fingers along the two figures before looking up at Ford, the realization falling over the room.  
Ford nodded approvingly at the younger Winchester, clasping his hands behind his back. “I too noticed this. My suspicion is that once the circle is drawn each picture will represent a person.” He paused to point at the Shooting Star, Pine-Tree, Question Mark, Hand and Fish. “I have already discovered who each of these symbols represent.”  
Cas looked at the circle before his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “That is only half.”  
“Thank you, Cas.” Dean rolled his eyes as he spoke, exasperation clear in his voice.  
“You’re welcome, Dean.” Cas responded, causing Dean to cover his face with his hand while shaking his head.  
“He is correct.” Ford nodded, seemingly ignoring the small spat unfolding before him. “We do not have the time to figure out who the rest of the picture symbolize.”  
“So back to square one.” Dean leaned back in his chair, looking resigned.  
*GFS*  
Dipper blinked, he was somewhere familiar, but he couldn’t place it. There was a high angled ceiling with a natural reddish light coming from his left. Something smelled vaguely moldy and an odd snorting noise was coming from the floor near his feet.  
Turning his head towards the light source, Dipper nearly jumped out of his skin. As it was he did slam himself into the wall behind him before he realized Bill was not in the room… It was just the attic window, which Dipper had never realized looked so much like Bill, there was nothing to be afraid of.  
He was back in his body, which seemed to be safely back in the Mystery Shack. He was back… He had to do it today, prolonging the inevitable would just make it worse in the end. He didn’t have much time.  
Mabel… She deserved to know first, before any of the others.  
Grabbing his hat and stuffing over his unruly hair without bothering to brush the brown mess, he pushed his hands into his pockets and trudged over to the door. Just as he reached the foot of his bed something caught his feet, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thud. The first thought Dipper had was of the ropes tangling around him and he panicked, kicking and thrashing until a loud snort caused him to stop.  
“Waddles!” Dipper cried, reaching forward to grab the pig. He wasn’t even sure if he was excited to see the pig or angry that it had tripped him but he hugged the swine all the same.  
And then the door swung open so hard it hit the wall.  
“Dude! You’re awake!” Soos yelled, grabbing the boy in a lung crushing bear hug.  
“Sup.” Wendy took a slight step forward and noogied Dipper through his hat.  
“What’re… You… Soos… Can’t breathe.” Dipper gasped out.  
“Oh!” The handyman gently released the boy, letting him sink back to the ground. “Sorry, dude.”  
Dipper hugged his own arms around his chest, Soos hadn’t hurt him but he felt much more comfortable in the slightly hunched position. “What’re you guys doing here?”  
“We’re here for work but we’ve been stopping in to check on you, but you’re always…. Sleeping…” Wendy trailed off after saying the last word, knowing very well he hadn’t been asleep.  
Dipper took a deep breath, this was it… He meant to tell Mabel first but if he put it off any longer he might chicken out. “Yeah… Well…” What was he supposed to say? Without realizing it Dipper placed his hand on the back of his neck nervously. “You guys are great.” He glanced up at the two, gauging their reactions. Both were still beaming at him, this was how he wanted to remember them. “I’ve missed you…” And I’m going to miss you… He added the last bit silently. Tears threatened to spill over his eyes, causing him to throw his body into a hug with both of them to hide his face.  
“Hey…” Wendy placed her hand on Dipper’s head as she spoke, her tone telling Dipper that he had thrown her off. “We… We missed you too, dude.”  
“Yeah…” He tried to pull away while surreptitiously wiping the tears from his eyes at the same time. He needed to get out of here before he broke down again. “Have you seen Mabel?”  
“She was with Stan… I think they were in the Gift Shop.” Wendy tipper her head slightly. “Why…?”  
“Thanks!” Dipper bolted off before any questions he could not answer could be asked.  
Dipper rushed down the stairs, attempting to skip several steps in his hurry. Unfortunately, in his haste his feet caught on one another. He found himself falling over several steps before landing at the bottom in an undignified heap. He gave a small groan but knowing pain would soon be Bill’s instead of his own. Perhaps he had even imagined the pain, a reminder of when he was normal.  
“Dipper!” Ford’s shocked voice came from the kitchen, causing the younger twin to look up at his uncle, along with the two hunters and the angel who stood in the kitchen with him.  
“Gunkle Ford!” Dipper’s voice cracked as he jumped to his feet. “I… Uh…” His eyes drifted nervously to the hunters, he really didn’t want to do this in front of them. “I need to talk to you… Alone.”  
“Of course.” Grabbing Dipper’s shoulder Ford lead him to the TV room, it was slightly more private, though Dipper was sure the hunters could still hear him. But with this many people in the Shack they would be hard pressed to find somewhere more private. “What is it my boy?” Ford knelt in front of the boy to place him on his nephews level.  
“I wanted…” Dipper began, his eyes darting anywhere but his Uncle’s face. “I didn’t know Bill would do this… I… I’m sorry…” For what I’ve done and what I’m about to do. The boy seemed to droop, the full weight of what he was about to do hitting him like a sledgehammer.  
“No need to be sorry, lad.” Ford placed made sure both his hands were solidly on the boy’s shoulders, causing the child to squirm slightly. “We’ll figure this out.”  
Dipper bit his lip, but he knew better… There wasn’t much time now. Instead of saying any more on the subject Dipper gave his uncle a quick hug and turned towards the Gift Shop. “I should go find Mabel.”  
“Yes…” Ford rose to his feet. “I believe she is with Stanley.” His tone told Dipper that he suspected something but there was no way he could guess what would come next.  
Dipper nodded although didn’t stop walking, though he wasn’t really paying attention as he moved from the living quarters to the Gift Shop. As a result, though he wasn’t going fast enough to fall this time he walked right into Stan’s legs.  
“Woah there, Sport.” Stan placed a hand on the boys back to balance him. “You’re finally up and about.”  
“Uh-ha…” Dipper gave a slow affirmative, looking to the side so he didn’t have to meet his uncle’s eyes. “I… uh…”  
“You gave us a good scare.” Stan’s face held more emotion in this moment than Dipper had seen all summer, too many emotions to read all at once.  
“I…” Dipper didn’t know what to say, he glance around hoping to see Mabel, but she was no where in sight. It was time to man up. His relationship with Stan may have been rocky but he knew his Grunkle loved him… He had once thought the old man hated him, but now… Now he knew better. Stan loved him… Right? “Do you hate me for that? For scaring you?” He asked without thinking.  
Stan’s face faltered slightly, but, like the conman he was, he quickly recovered. “Of course not!” He gave Dipper a good pat on the back. “Kid, I could never hate you… Between you and that sister of yours I’ve never been so happy in all my life. You kids mean everything to me.”  
Dipper nodded, a thick knot filling his throat. This is not what he had been expecting, he actually had to avoid eye contact, or he might break down again. Please don’t hate me after this is over. He pleaded silently before pulling away.  
“Speaking of your sister, she’s on the porch… She’ll be happy to see you up and around.” Stan gestured in the direction of the door.  
“Thanks.” Dipper said in a thick voice, giving his uncle what he hoped was a true smile but really looked more like a grimace before he walked through the door.  
Mabel was sitting on the steps with her sweater pulled up to it half covered her face as well as being pulled over her knees. She looked as if she had been crying, her cheeks covered in red splotches and her eyes puffed up.  
“Hey.” Dipper croaked passed the guilt, knowing he had been the cause of all this.  
It all happened in a split second, Mabel spun around before launching herself on top of her brother and half laughing, half crying as she pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You’re awake! I missed you!” She began babbling all the things that came to her mind and she would have gone on forever if Dipper hadn’t spoken up.  
“I know… I…” Though he didn’t pull back, you never pull away from a hug when you know someone needs it.  
Finally, Mabel held him at arm’s length, but refused to let go as if she thought he might disappear if she did. She wasn’t wrong.  
When Mabel didn’t continue her babbling Dipper attempted to swallow the growing knot. “I missed you too.”  
“You scared me…” Mabel’s eyes filled with tears once more forcing her to wipe them away with her sleeve.  
“I’m sorry.” Dipper swallowed again but it only served to make the knot larger, he had to be strong, he couldn’t cry now… Not in front of Mabel.. “I… Mabel.” He took a deep breath. “Please don’t hate me for this.”  
Now Mabel was crying, large tears pouring from her eyes. As they fell she muttered into her sleeve, something about never being able to hate him.  
Dipper had to take several more deep breaths. He had to do this… Just rip it off… Like a band aid… “I love you, Mabel.” He pulled away and began backing down the steps and into the yard. Look away… Look away! He kept yelling the words in his head, but it wasn’t until Mabel hiccupped and met his eyes that he couldn’t take it any more and had to turn and run.  
“Dip! Dipper, where are you going?!” The panic in his sister’s voice only made Dipper run faster.  
“Don’t follow me!” He screamed back but somehow, he already knew she would disobey him.  
“Dipper!” The girl shrieked, alerting everyone nearby of the situation.  
The boy pushed his legs harder, he had to get there before they came after him… Before they caught up. They knew now… They would come after him and they were all older and faster than he was. He needed to go faster, faster… His legs were burning, and his lungs were on fire. Still he pushed harder, it would all be over soon. Behind him he could hear all the other following him… Mabel screaming his name, Ford and Stan not far off and the voices of those hunters as they called positions to one another.  
So close… His heart pounding painfully in his head. Almost there.  
Finally, he slid to a stop. Before him was the cliff he had jumped off once before, when they were fighting the Gideon bot. Only this time, he knew there was no one to save him.  
“Dipper!” Mabel broke out of the trees several yards away and stopped as well. “What are you doing?”  
There were no words, Dipper had said everything. Yet here was Mabel, looking for an explanation. “Please understand… This is the only way.” It was as the rest of the group were breaking from the tree’s that Dipper took several steps backwards and fell over the edge.

Thanks to my Beta SirenFox who, as always, corrected this chapter for me. Please leave your feedback. Also, I would apologize for the ending but the chapter name was a warning… of sorts. See you for the next chapter where the real fun begins.


End file.
